The collection of thermal energy by means of fluid-filled members exposed to incident solar energy is broadly well known. Conversion of solar incident energy to electrical energy by photovoltaic devices is also broadly well known. Also well known is the use of reflecting surfaces to gather and increase the amount of solar energy incident upon both thermal and photovoltaic collecting devices. The combination of both thermal and photovoltaic collectors in a common assembly has been typically described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,946,945 to N. J. Regnier et al, and No. 4,056,405 to P. F. Varadi.
In the prior art, there have been a number of schemes proposed for improving the efficiency of collection of solar energy utilizing fixed reflectors. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,419,434 to E. W. Colehower, a sheet of metal with zig-zag corrugations is utilized to reflect solar radiation onto photovoltaic devices for the purpose of increasing energy collection efficiency. In another such disclosure, U.S. Pat. No. 3,427,200, to E. E. Lapin et al, there is employed a light concentrating means that permits reflection of light from many angles and from many surfaces onto a non-adjustable fixed array of photovoltaic cells. Another disclosure is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,381 to R. Winston, which describes a means of collecting and concentrating solar energy from a relatively large aperture onto a relaively small surface, utilizing trough-shaped reflecting surfaces. Reduction of cost by utilizing lightweight plastic materials in the construction of a non-tracking solar energy collector is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,024,852, to P.M. L'Esperance et al.
The structures of the prior art have serious disadvantages, mainly in that they are relatively difficult to fabricate and employ collection elements that cannot be easily oriented relative to their supports for optimum efficiency so as to enable a given design to be employed for a wide range of roof conditions and geographical locations. Also, they do not have provision for adjusting their collection elements to be as nearly sun-facing as possible without moving the supporting frame of the assembly. Therefore, there is a definite need for an improved system which eliminates these disadvantages.